Germany's Gomez reveals rejected Real offer

05 September 2013 10:16

Germany striker Mario Gomez has revealed how he turned down an offer to join Real Madrid before signing for Italian side Fiorentina.

Fiorentina paid Bayern Munich 15.5 million euros ($20.4 million) last month for Gomez, who signed a four-year contract, after scoring 75 goals in 115 Bundesliga games for the Bavarians.

The 28-year-old quit European champions Bayern having spent most of last season on the bench and said his desire for regular first-team football made it an easy decision to turn down Carlo Ancelotti's Real.

"That's why I didn't join any other club," Gomez, who has already scored two goals in his two Serie A matches so far, told German magazine Kicker.

"If I had joined Real, I would have just been used off the bench with (France striker Karim) Benzema.

"Ancelotti was interested, that was a honour for me as my whole family are Real fans.

"I appreciated their interest and told my agent that I wanted to join Fiorentina."

With 25 goals in 59 appearances for Germany, Gomez is vying with Miroslav Klose for the single striker's berth in Friday's 2014 World Cup qualifier against Austria in Munich.

Klose, 35, is just one short of Gerd Mueller's all-time record for Germany. Mueller scored 68 goals in 62 matches for his country, the last being the winner in the 1974 World Cup final win over Holland.